My Completely Irrelevant Top 25 and Heisman Race

Heisman Race
–I’m just going to include a link to the players stats from now on for space purposes. The top three players this week reflect the most consistent performers in the country, while Pryor and Robinson are on the verge of falling out.

1. Cam Newton, Auburn, QBLast Week vs. Arkansas: 10/14, 140 yards, 1 TD; 25 att., 188 yards, 3 TD
-So far, only two teams have held Newton under 100 yards (w/ more than 10 carries) on the ground. Newton accounts for 63.4% (2,138 yards) of the Tigers offense and is averaging 3.6 touchdowns per game. To put that into perspective, Tebow averaged 4.2 touchdowns per game in his 2007 Heisman season. Newton leads the nation in yardage per completion at 10.5 as well.

2. Kellen Moore, Boise State, QBLast Week vs. San Jose State: 14/16, 231 yards, 2 TD
-Moore leads the nation in passing efficiency at 190, 7th in completion percentage (69.7%) and 2nd in yardage per attempt (10.4). He doesn’t run, but he keeps the mistakes to a minimum and runs the Broncos offense very well. While the quality of opponents is not where you want it to be, you have to respect the ratios.

3. LaMichael James, Oregon, RBLast Week vs BYE: This is the only thing that can slow James down
-The Ducks got the week off, so I’m not going to punish James. He stays put this week.

5. Denard Robinson, Michigan, QBLast Week vs. Iowa: 13/18, 96 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 18 att., 105 yards
-Denard had success running against Iowa, but he threw his 4th interception in two games and left in the 3rd quarter with an arm injury. After his exit, Tate Forcier brought the Wolverines back to within striking distance but it wasn’t enough. Keep in mind that Robinson is only a Sophomore and despite the injuries, he still leads the nation in rushing. He sticks for now, but if the performances like the past two weeks continue to mount up — he’ll have to go.

Moving Up: The Dark Horse list is a good indicator of who is moving up.

I feel sorry for the guys that have to rank these teams for real. After ranking #17, it’s a crap shoot for me. It gets ugly. I don’t really think any of the last five teams are top 25 worthy, but I guess you have to put somebody there. It’s also alarming that I have six teams from the Big 12 in the Top 25, but I suppose having three undefeated schools will do that. Including Texas might be a bit much, but the Longhorns at least have the talent to be in the Top 25 if nothing else.

I refuse to move LSU further than 10th. They have a solid defense, but their offense is abysmal. They have no leadership at quarterback which leads to an ineffective passing game. The original starter, Jordan Jefferson, hasn’t thrown for 100 yards since the North Carolina game. LSU does have a good ground game, but without a threat passing the ball it renders that almost completely useless. The Tigers biggest wins are against an undermanned North Carolina team, overrated West Virginia and a mediocre Florida team. They barely won those games and needed a fake field goal to put itself in position to beat Florida. A below average Tennessee team had LSU beat for two minutes, but Les Miles used the Madden rewind feature. I don’t even want to put LSU in the Top Ten, but I have to.

As for the Top Five.. these teams are moving up by default. That being said, I think Boise State is better than Oregon, TCU, Oklahoma and Michigan State. Auburn and Oregon lead the charge for worst defense in the Top Ten. It’s a weird season. I’m sure it will only get stranger. For those who want a playoff, I don’t think Boise State winning the National Championship is the answer. In fact, it seems like those who support a playoff would want the opposite to happen. So, for the Boise lovers — you should probably cheer for Oklahoma and Oregon to jump you in the BCS.

What’s that? Oh, they already did? #BCSfail

Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment box below. You can e-mail me suggestions or questions at jtmcadams@aol.com. Follow me on Twitter @JoeSportswriter.

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Published by Tyler McAdams

3 thoughts on “My Completely Irrelevant Top 25 and Heisman Race”

I know Boise has done nothing to drop, but they have even less than Oregon to prove that they are #1. I give the top spot to Oregon. I dont see Boise being able to shut down their offense. Ill give Boise #2 over OK though. In fact, unfortunately Id have to say that I give #3 to AU even with their HORRIBLE defense. Im giving Cam that much credit and the rest of the undefeated teams that much disrespect. OK then TCU round out my top 5.

I won’t disagree that Michigan State is overrated. There’s still a lot of time left for shake up, though. And with the way this season has progressed so far, I expect there’s a lot more of it to come.

As for the Top 5, it’s hard to give anyone the #1 spot right now. I wonder if Boise State will start to feel a little bit of pressure? Their remaining games against Hawaii and @Nevada will be interesting to watch. As for my reasoning of putting them over Oregon, they have knocked them off the last two years.

It’s going to take a big upset for someone to take out Oregon in the PAC-10. Oregon has a very suspect defense, but they have a fantastic offense. The defenses in the PAC-10 can only slow them down and keep up. I think the back end of their schedule is tougher and it could possibly provide an upset.

Boise State has just as much of a right to be #1 as Oregon does. Oregon has key wins against Arizona State and Stanford. Boise has key wins against Virginia Tech and Oregon State. Throw away the fluke loss to James Madison and the Hokies are right where we expected they would be. They are playing much better now and they are better than Stanford and Arizona State, in my opinion.

Different teams or not, the philosophy is still the same and Boise State has stopped Oregon two years in a row. I don’t see how they couldn’t do it again. Not to mention, Boise State is also a better team than they were in 2008 and 2009.